Getting enough greens, let alone vegetables, into your little one can be a giant task. So giant that sometimes it’s easier to just not give them the vegetables at all.

However, ensuring your child is getting a broad range of nutrients particularly from plant foods is a surefire way to give them the best shot at growing as a healthy and happy little Well Being which makes it difficult when they don’t want to eat what’s good for them.

The solution? Vegetables in disguise. These dressed up ‘sausage’ rolls are entirely sausage-free and loaded with kale and other veggies but, your little one doesn’t need to know much more other than that there’s pastry involved, it tastes like a sausage roll and that there will be tomato sauce for all.

If you’re going to serve your children one kind of green kale is the one to go for as its superfood status and nutritional benefit cannot be compared to much else. It is a dark, leafy green that has high amounts of vitamin A, C and fibre. Vitamins A and C help support immunity and the fibre will support a happy and healthy digestive system.

Kale also contains calcium, iron and potassium which are important nutrients for growth and development. As well as all of this, kale contains a number of impressive anti-oxidants that protect your child’s body from unavoidable free radical damage that occurs during day-to-day life.

Children who are fussy with their food will eat what tastes good and does not look too intimidating to manage. That is why creating nutritious foods based on what kids know and love is a good place to start. They will be happy to have it and you will be happy knowing you are looking after all their nutritional needs. They’ll thank you for it later!

makes 16 pastries

Ingredients

1 zucchini, grated

1 small onion

3 heaped cups kale, de-stemmed

200g haloumi

A handful of fresh mint

A handful of fresh basil

1 cup rolled oats

2 eggs, lightly whisked

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed

To brush: milk, butter, olive oil and smoked paprika (see step 3).

How to make

Heat your oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tray with baking paper. Place your frozen pastry sheets on the bench top to thaw while you prep the rest of the ingredients

Grate your zucchini and set it aside in a strainer so that the excess liquid can drip off. Then, in a food processor or blender, blitz the onion, kale, haloumi, mint and basil until they are finely chopped (you might need to do this one ingredient at a time depending on your machine). Transfer them to a mixing bowl then blitz the oats into a coarse flour and add them to the mixing bowl as well. Combine all the ingredients together then add the lightly whisked eggs to bring everything together. Place the mixture in the fridge for around 10 minutes to set

To prepare the rolls, cut the pastry sheets into equal halves so you have four pieces. Take the filling mixture from the fridge and using your hands, place a line of filling down the centre of each piece. You might need to squeeze it out with your hands as you do this to remove excess moisture. Once the filling has been placed, roll the pastry on top of itself and seal the rolls closed. Cut each roll into four, brush with melted butter, milk or olive oil and a dusting of smoked paprika if desired, place them on the baking tray and into the oven to cook for around 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden and crunchy

Roberta's tips

If you would like to freeze these rolls, you can do so by wrapping them up in cling wrap prior to cutting them into smaller portions and putting them into the freezer for later. They will last approximately one month in the freezer

These can easily be re-heated if you end up cooking too many at once. Store them in an airtight container once cool and re-heat them for 10-15 minutes at 160 degrees

Roberta of Naturo Medico is a Naturopathic Practitioner who specialises in preventative care and women’s health. From her Melbourne-based clinic, Roberta sees women of all ages wanting to meet their own health goals and assists them on their path with personalised treatments specific to their needs.

Alongside practice, Roberta shares healthful and nutrient-rich recipes with her readers who inspire her to continue educating on what health and wellbeing means and how it can be achieved.

Follow @naturomedico on Instagram for more healthy eating inspira-tion